Fifth ranked Iowa State jumped out to a 23-point halftime lead and beat Mississippi Valley State 83-44. ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger says there is a lot to work on.

Keshon Gilbert had 17 points and the Cyclones were 22 of 29 from the line.

Iowa took control with a 13-0 run early in the second half and rolled to an 89-67 victory over Texas A@M Commerce. Payton Sandfort led the Hawkeyes with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Iowa’s pressure defense in the second half helped them take control.

Daniel Abreu scored 30 points and Bennett Stirtz added 18 as Drake beat York College of Nebraska 93-41 Ben McCollum posted a victory in his debut as Bulldog coach.

The Bulldogs took control early and led 50-23 at halftime.

Drake made 13 three pointers and shot better than 52 percent for the game.

The 38-3 Riverside Bulldogs are back at the State Volleyball tournament for the first time since the 2022 season. This year’s Riverside team has seen a tremendous success with a strong rotation of upperclassmen and a sharp offensive attack with over 1200 kills.

One unique feature for the 2024 Bulldogs are the pair of Kelley sisters. Junior Madison Kelley and freshman Ashley Kelley have been major contributors for their squad. Madison Kelley has created 121 kills and 70 block assists. Ashley Kelley has boosted Riverside with her 443 assists and 33 service aces.

Madison Kelley credits her team’s focus as one of the reasons why they’ve been able to make it to state.

Ashley Kelley noted that a large part of Riverside’s success has been the positive culture of their program.

When asked about playing with her sibling, Ashley Kelley commented that it’s been a constructive adventure.

Madison Kelley also explained that playing for head coach Brooke Flathers has been a tremendous experience, and she makes each and every athlete better.

Looking back on their childhood, Ashley explained that Madison did a great job of pushing her to be better.

Riverside begins the state tournament Tuesday night against the fifth seeded North Tama Redhawks. Madison Kelley is focused on bringing energy and intensity for her team.

KJAN has the coverage for Tuesday’s match with the pregame show beginning at 7:45 p.m.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior Jay Higgins has been named a 2024 Dick Butkus Award semifinalist, it was announced Monday by the Butkus Foundation. It marks the second straight season Higgins is a semifinalist for the prestigious award.

Higgins is one of 15 semifinalists for the 2024 Butkus Award, presented to the nation’s most outstanding linebacker. He is also a quarterfinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy.

Higgins was named a midseason All-American last month by the Associated Press, Sporting News, CBS and The Athletic.

Higgins is leading the Big Ten in tackles (sixth nationally), making 94 tackles (10.4 per game). He has led the team in tackles in all nine games, including a season-high 14 tackles against Ohio State, Washington and Michigan State. He also has three interceptions (18th nationally and tied for the most by a Power 4 linebacker) and forced two fumbles. Higgins, who has 311 career tackles in 54 games, has five double-digit tackle games this season and 16 in his career.

The Indianapolis native has 69 tackles in six Big Ten games, averaging 11.4 tackles per contest. Higgins is six tackles shy of reaching 100 for the season. The last Hawkeye to record back-to-back 100-tackle seasons was Jack Campbell in 2021 and 2022.

Campbell won the award in 2022 and was a semifinalist in 2021, while Josey Jewell was a finalist for the Butkus Award in 2016 and a semifinalist in 2017.

Iowa (6-3, 4-2) returns to action Friday at UCLA (3-5, 2-4). Kickoff for that contest is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. (CT) in Pasadena, California. The game will be televised on FOX and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network.

Jay Higgins | 2024 Honors
Dick Butkus Award Semifinalist
Lott IMPACT Trophy Quarterfinalist
AP, CBS Sports, Sporting News, The Athletic Midseason All-America
Chuck Bednarik Award midseason Watch List
Preseason National Defensive Player of the Year by Phil Steele
Preseason first-team Walter Camp All-American
Preseason first-team All-America by AP, ESPN, CBS Sports
Preseason first-team All-America by Phil Steele, Athlon Sports
Preseason first-team All-Big Ten by Phil Steele, Athlon Sports
Preseason Big Ten Honors List
Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason Watch List
Lombardi Award midseason Watch List
Wuerffel Trophy preseason Watch List
Senior Bowl preseason Watch List

The UNI women open the basketball season at home on Tuesday night against Wisconsin-LaCrosse. Panther coach Tanya Warren wants to see better defense than last week’s exhibition game win over Quincy University.

Warren on the aspects of defense they have worked on.

The Panthers have an experienced starting lineup but Warren will be experimenting with the rotation.

The eighth ranked Iowa State women raced out to a 29-0 lead and cruised to a 96-56 win over Chicago State this (Monday) afternoon in Ames.Sophomore forward Addy Brown led the Cyclones with 20 points and nine rebounds.

The game was played in front of several thousand elementary school kids.